Lately, it seems that Blue LED's are all the rage. Here's a way to add them to a classic kit. I've made a small assembly of blue led's that fits in the space of a neon lamp. With a change in the dropping resistor(s), you can use it anywhere you would have used a neon lamp...
I haven't gone into production yet, but I figured people might like to see it.
From Orange to Blue
I haven't gone into production yet, but I figured people might like to see it.
From Orange to Blue
Blue AC neon bulbs $ 0.50
Blue AC neon bulbs [BLUENEON] : LEDsales. LEDs, LED products and other cool stuff.
They also have green, yellow and white neon bulbs.
Blue AC neon bulbs [BLUENEON] : LEDsales. LEDs, LED products and other cool stuff.
They also have green, yellow and white neon bulbs.
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RJM...
The DIYAudio forum is better than google! I had read that blue neon lamps were available, but when I googled them, never found a source. That's why I made this LED assembly. Right now, I'm running about 5 mA through it...It's probably too bright...I might eventually settle on 2.5 mA...but then, if this blue neon lamp looks good...maybe that's the way to go!
Thanks for the link!
Dan
The DIYAudio forum is better than google! I had read that blue neon lamps were available, but when I googled them, never found a source. That's why I made this LED assembly. Right now, I'm running about 5 mA through it...It's probably too bright...I might eventually settle on 2.5 mA...but then, if this blue neon lamp looks good...maybe that's the way to go!
Thanks for the link!
Dan
Previous link was Australia.
New link, Van Nuys, California.
Neon Lamp, NE-2B, 6x12, 60mm leads, BLUE NE-2B-6x12x60 - All Spectrum Electronics
Whole page.
Neon Lamps - All Spectrum Electronics
6x12, 6x20, or 6x24
New link, Van Nuys, California.
Neon Lamp, NE-2B, 6x12, 60mm leads, BLUE NE-2B-6x12x60 - All Spectrum Electronics
Whole page.
Neon Lamps - All Spectrum Electronics
6x12, 6x20, or 6x24
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Brightness Experiments
At first, I put about 10 mA through the array--e.g. 120 V through 10K. It was quite bright...so I cut the current down to 5 mA-120 V through 20K. It was still pretty bright...
RJM1 pointed out the comparison with a Neon lamp...0.3 mA...So, I did some experiments...
50K resistor...about 2 mA - still looked pretty good.
90K resistor...about 1 mA - still respectable
150 K resistor...about 0.7 mA - still clearly visible as ON...maybe after losses through the "clear" plastic of the switch might be a bit dim...
Still...I was pleasantly surprised how low I could drop the current...
2 mA might be quite acceptable...that's only 240 mW off a 120 volt line. That's really quite manageable...
At first, I put about 10 mA through the array--e.g. 120 V through 10K. It was quite bright...so I cut the current down to 5 mA-120 V through 20K. It was still pretty bright...
RJM1 pointed out the comparison with a Neon lamp...0.3 mA...So, I did some experiments...
50K resistor...about 2 mA - still looked pretty good.
90K resistor...about 1 mA - still respectable
150 K resistor...about 0.7 mA - still clearly visible as ON...maybe after losses through the "clear" plastic of the switch might be a bit dim...
Still...I was pleasantly surprised how low I could drop the current...
2 mA might be quite acceptable...that's only 240 mW off a 120 volt line. That's really quite manageable...
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I did some more experiments with the blue LED assembly in a Dynaco Stereo 120 power rocker switch.
I found that a 100K dropping resistor seems just about right...still nice and blue, quite well visible, but not so much light as to be jarring. My original version used a 20K dropping resistor...quite bright and blue...but too much...
I think it's the visual equivalent of subwoofer effect...people start out with their subs turned up way too high at first, and then gradually drop it to where it makes a bit more sense. So it seems, with the amount of blue light.
Another interesting measurement for the record...The original dropping resistor in the switch, for the NE-2 orange lamp, was about 33k (two samples measured 36K1 and 32K5). It looks like a 1/2 watt resistor was used originally. That's a bit lower resistance than I would have expected...I had in faded memory a typical value of 100K-150K.
I found that a 100K dropping resistor seems just about right...still nice and blue, quite well visible, but not so much light as to be jarring. My original version used a 20K dropping resistor...quite bright and blue...but too much...
I think it's the visual equivalent of subwoofer effect...people start out with their subs turned up way too high at first, and then gradually drop it to where it makes a bit more sense. So it seems, with the amount of blue light.
Another interesting measurement for the record...The original dropping resistor in the switch, for the NE-2 orange lamp, was about 33k (two samples measured 36K1 and 32K5). It looks like a 1/2 watt resistor was used originally. That's a bit lower resistance than I would have expected...I had in faded memory a typical value of 100K-150K.
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Here is the orange to blue light conversion for a PAT-4...I took a number of pictures...on most of them the color didn't look anything like real life. This one is the closest I could get...
Any photogs out there with hints about getting the right color balance to show the beautiful blue of the LEDs?
Any photogs out there with hints about getting the right color balance to show the beautiful blue of the LEDs?
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